


Overheating to Where and When

by Entomolojest



Series: NiGHTS: Broken Shore Main Story/Oneshots [2]
Category: NiGHTS into Dreams
Genre: Angst, Dissociation, Implied abuse, Light Body Horror mention, Multiple Realities, Nightmaren, Nilihym needs help lol, Oneshot
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-01
Updated: 2020-03-01
Packaged: 2021-02-28 12:07:18
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 872
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22969738
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Entomolojest/pseuds/Entomolojest
Summary: Nilihym spends too much time on the Machine and has to deal with the side effects, lingering on the frays of six realities at once.Some nights are worse than others.
Series: NiGHTS: Broken Shore Main Story/Oneshots [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1655698
Kudos: 5





	Overheating to Where and When

The heat gauge filled Nilihym's visions with crimson. The Machine, hardwired into her Persona, whirred and spat and churned Ideya, rumbling as it reached its melting point. The suspended monitors wilted and winked out, leaving pockets of black in the nauseating light. Nilihym clutched her head and shrieked; two visitors tried to attack her at once while Reala was putzing around, and Jackle was being utterly  _ useless _ . Another visitor screamed in response, terrified by the glitching apparition of Nightmaren. She was tearing apart, losing her grip on the Dreamscapes she was stalking. The Machine, like Nilihym, could only take so much. 

Even a nightmare wasn't allowed to experience everything. 

She gasped as the wires released, jarring her into her lair. Her body vibrated while the last thrums took their toll. Nilihym deflated and slumped on the cold, clammy surface of the Machine. Buttons blipped in response, a static noise cried out, and Nilihym rolled to the side to shield herself from the lights. She smelled burnt rubber and the musty odor of spent Ideya, dashed loosely on the floor like a broken mirror. Numb, her hand groped for the point of her hat, just to make sure it was still there. To make sure  _ she _ was still  _ here _ . Long sessions were killer. It could've been two cycles for all she knew, by the ringing in her ears and the fuzzy tears pooling in her Persona. 

Nilihym tried to close her eyes, a near impossible feat, swayed too far left, and fell from the Machine. She saw and felt herself drop before it happened, which delayed the inevitable crunch of electronics and static. She fell twice in her head, one worse than the other, catching her Persona on the side of a thick wire and-- 

That was a different Nilihym's problem. She was only lagging from a hard night's work, and such a defect would be frowned upon by Master Wizeman. Even that stimulating notion couldn't budge Nilihym from her sprawled position, staring at the reflection of her Persona in the twinkling Ideya shards. She felt like a specimen under the crooked monitors, more akin to cruel stage lights from the bottom. What a fall, she thought, and then thought again, and again, but from the right instead. The possibilities were endless, but the outcome was the same: Nilihym had a severe defect, and it paralyzed her. 

She hadn't moved from her pitiful position, crumpled in an inky heap of dull, useless colors, but nothing was completely black and white. In fact, the Ideya reflected a black and red jester's hat, ashen skin and yellow talons. Her sibling, Reala. He stared down at her mute expression and lacked his Persona. He tapped his foot on the shards, causing her to twitch. 

"Tut-tut little sibling. You've gone and shown off again, haven't you?" he said, stepping to the right. Or maybe the left. Or, nowhere at all. 

Behind him was another Reala, lounging on a low hanging wire while picking his teeth. This Reala was heavily scared, and wore a hole deep in his chest. Nilihym stared at them both, and grimaced when the injured Reala stuck their finger through their breast. 

"Don't look at me like that, Nilihym! Don't you remember how I got this scar?" 

This Reala was predatory, practically purring as they glided gracefully towards Nilihym, prone and helpless, her limbs too exhausted. He stood where the Persona-less one did, and nealed to get a better look. The Ideya shards were now rubble. Her Persona had a crack.

"I told you I'd get my revenge!" he said, and raised his leg to strike… and was gone. The crack was gone. That was another Nilihym's future. 

She wondered how many Realas would visit her this time. The Jackles leaned more towards fragrant displays of torture and hatred than Reala's subtle, if deadly, backbites. 

"Nilihym." 

The lair shook. Master Wizeman's voice carried the weight of his words, and brandished them like a morning star. Two hands and piercing eyes swung into view, and with them Reala. This Reala looked concerned, but maintained an air of loyalty to the Master. 

"Nilihym. What is the meaning of this?" Wizeman drawled, and circled the defenseless Nightmaren. "Reala told me of your… condition. If what I heard is true, I'm disappointed in your inept use of my Machine." 

Nilihym poured her strength into every muscle. She slowly uncurled and unsteadily rose into the air. Her Persona searched Wizeman, for her Wizeman. She wasn't inept or unable she was…  _ tired; _ tired of seeing bad endings night in and night out. 

"Master Wizeman, please forgive me," Nilihym began, eyeballing Reala. He looked like hers, all scrunched and confused. "I-- I overextended myself over a visitor that didn't matter. It won't happen again, Master. I'm, I'm not--" 

She bowed her head. 

Quiet. Waiting for the reprimand. 

When she looked up again, there was only Reala. He put both hands on her shoulders, shocked at how malleable they were. He was saying something, shouting, she couldn't hear it over the cacophony of ringing.

What she could see were his two eyes, blue and purple, betraying the soul. 

This was her Reala. 

"Don't tell Wizeman," she said. The screen faded to black. 


End file.
